Thrown From The Saddle

Share via

In choosing to rid himself of his Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup — but not until the autumn — David Cameron has plumped for the St Augustine option: “Lord, give me a new head of the Armed Forces, but not yet.”

It is a decision for which the Prime Minister deserves full marks for judgment, but the execution has been less impressive. What makes the Government’s timing so puzzling is that it will leave Sir Jock in place to oversee the Strategic Defence Review. This means that a man who evidently does not command the confidence